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Content deals delay Intel's Web TV plan

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 02, 2013 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
Intel's plan to offer set-top
box with Internet-based TV services was put on the shelf as the
chip-making giant could not reach agreements with content
providers, U.S. media reported Wednesday.

One person familiar with Intel's plan told The Wall Street
Journal that the service might not arrive until as late as the
fourth quarter of 2013, citing delays in reaching content-
licensing agreements with entertainment companies that own major
TV channels.

Speculation about Intel's TV plan has intensified after some
recent media reports expected the company to announce the service
at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.

An entertainment company executive told The Wall Street Journal
that his company and Intel were far from reaching an agreement on
financial terms as Intel plans to license individual channels
rather than the conventional pay-TV bundle.

Entertainment companies usually license bundles of channels
including both popular networks and lesser-known channels.

So far, Intel has reached one content deal, but is still facing
difficulties persuading other companies, according to the report.

Meanwhile, content providers also feel skeptical on Intel's
plan since it has little experience delivering products directly
to the end user.

Redefining consumer's living room experience, especially the
traditional TV-watching, is expected to be the next battlefield
tech giants will fight for and one of personal technology
highlights in 2013.

But content deals have been the major obstacle. Entertainment
companies and TV distributors have been reluctant to let tech
companies set foot on the territory, worrying about their current
lucrative subscription system got undercut.

For example, in 2010, three of the largest television networks
in the United States started blocking Google TV users from
watching video content on their web sites in less than one week
since the device's release.